Just 15% of employees trust managers, poll finds
A new survey has found that only 15 per cent of employees totally trust their managers.
The poll, conducted by Badenoch & Clark, found discovered that 85 per cent are also in doubt about information given to them from above.
Since the onset of the recession, gossip in the workplace has also got worse, with a quarter of workers saying that it has increased.
Of the 1,005 workers questioned, 49 per cent of bankers and finance professionals believe gossip has increased since the financial crisis began.
Management skills could be called into question as in the Midlands, 32 per cent said that they did not believe anything their leaders tell them and 56 per cent are sceptical about what they say.
Neil Wilson, managing director of Badenoch & Clark, said: "The erosion of trust will result in a disengaged workforce and one that harbours little loyalty to the organisation."
Mr Wilson added that staff will be unwilling to "go the extra mile" for a manager they do not trust, which may result in staff leaving once the economy picks up and more jobs become available.
However, a survey of 7,500 by workers on four continents last year by consultants BlessingWhite found 75 per cent said they trust their immediate boss, compared with just 60 per cent who trust their organisation's senior leaders.
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Wow, that is a scary stat. You'd figure there would be some mistrust around at the moment with the recession but for it to be that low, I'm shocked.
I get the feeling that perhaps a slightly hard to understand question is to blame for this disapointing result. For different people, the threshold for 'trust' will be higher or lower than average.
I agree with you Simon. There's a big difference between totally trusting someone and not trusting them at all.
I'm not sure there's much scope for misinterpretation when you come out with statements such as 32% of people questioned in the midlands don't believe anything their leader / manager tells them and 56% are sceptical about what they say.
It's a sad indictment on the current state of management in many organisations
Haven't we all seen people in leadership roles that we wouldn't trust with anything let alone the ones we weren't totally sure of?
What did they ask to get the answer that they wouldn't trust anything their leaders said or are skeptical? Maybe it was a scale type question with people rating them at or near the bottom.
If you worked in manufacturing in the Midlands wouldn't you be skeptical management were telling you everything as they tried to battle to save the company? Especially if you have already seen one round of redundancies?
I have to say that in the company I work for - I trust the management. Does this mean they're effectively skilled? Or perhaps simply that I'm naive? We'll see.
Simon it is great to hear you trust the management. Ask yourself why that is - ie what is it that they do and say that gives you that confidence (assuming you are not totally niave!)?
Well yes, we'll assume I'm not totally naive for the time being. The trust in my managers comes from the fact I work in a professional firm that places a heavy emphasis in values. While you could argue that many Fortune 500 companies produce a generic values and culture package for their workers today, and go about it in a lay way - my firm has pioneered this kind of culture for a long time, so there's genuine respect there.
Here's a link to an article I found quite interesting, wonder if people can identify what stage their organisation is currently at:
http://www.whenyoubecometheboss.com/news/34/58/
Link to another article which suggests human behaviour in the workplace may be directly influenced by the economic climate we're currently experiencing:
http://www.trainingzone.co.uk/topic/leadership/more-team